


Stuck With You

by Ellidiotts



Series: Alternate Universes & One-Shots [1]
Category: Living With Yourself (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, References to Depression, Self-cest, Suicidal Thoughts, Trapped In A Closet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29712669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellidiotts/pseuds/Ellidiotts
Summary: Miles was determined to make his clone pay for ruining his life. Unfortunately for the both of them, nothing went quite to plan-- and now they were stuck together. Quite literally.Or: Miles finds himself stuck in close quarters with his better self, and feelings are had.
Relationships: New Miles Elliot/Original Miles Elliot (Living With Yourself)
Series: Alternate Universes & One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186622
Kudos: 5





	Stuck With You

**Author's Note:**

> Scott = New Miles.
> 
> This takes place mostly in canon, with it diverging during their fight at New Miles' apartment. This is mostly feels and pre-slash... and for once, it's not porn.
> 
> Enjoy!

Miles couldn’t believe the mess he’d managed to get himself into this time. Even simply recounting the events that led him here sounded so comically made up that he could barely believe it himself-- yet here he was, stuck in a tiny fucking closet with none other than his clone.

Knowing his luck these past few weeks, he wasn’t the least bit surprised. 

He’d driven here in a fit of seething rage, and he’d had every intention of killing the other man-- so of course, it was no surprise that their confrontation had turned violent. 

What Miles  _ hadn’t _ expected was for the two of them to knock over the bookshelf after he was kicked into it; causing a chain reaction of events - including being thrown out of harm’s way, landing where he’d now found himself… at the bottom of a mostly-empty closet, with barely enough room to move-- and his clone awkwardly stuck on top of him.

Shrouded by sudden darkness, silence hung in the air; the two men taking a moment to recall the events of the last few seconds, and how it led them to such a predicament. 

“What the--” Miles struggled, kicking and pushing his way from under the clone. “Get  _ off  _ me!”

Scott winced, legs and arms moving within the cramped space, seeking traction. “I’m  _ trying _ to, would you just--  _ fuck-- _ could stop freaking out for a _ second--! _ ”

Miles stood up as soon as he could, grunting in discomfort as his head hit the low ceiling, not realising just how small the space was. He could barely see anything but a slither of light by the closet door. But there was a gap-- enough to get his fingers through, pulling and pushing at the door with all the strength he could muster… but to no avail.

It was stuck-- not budging even the slightest inch. Miles stilled for a moment, taking a deep breath, and considering what he could possibly do. He was stuck, with his clone of all people - who he may or may not have been trying to kill a moment ago - in a small, dark, cramped closet.

Miles didn’t bother to think, panic setting in, continuing his failing struggles to seek escape.

Scott’s hand dug into the back of his shirt, jerking him away from the door. “Miles, you need to calm down--”

“I’m perfectly calm!” Miles snapped back, breathing heavily. He batted away the clone’s attempts to grab at him again, pushing him back and failing. 

There was barely enough room for the two of them to stand-- there was no way they could get out of the other’s grasp whilst they were stuck here. But that didn’t stop Miles from trying.

“Can you  _ stop-- _ ” Scott’s hands were digging into his shoulders now, using his weight to keep Miles still. “You’re freaking out, you’re gonna hurt yourself.”

“Shut up!” Miles yelled, eyes snapping to where he assumed the clone’s were. “Don’t act like you’re trying to help me.”

“What else would I be doing?” The clone asked incredulously. 

Miles took a moment to catch his breath, amazed how the other man had somehow forgotten their earlier confrontation. “...We were fighting not five minutes ago,” he stated bluntly.

“ _ We _ weren’t,” Scott corrected. “ _ You _ were.”

“I--” He stopped himself, unsure how he was even going to respond to that. “ _ What? _ ”

“That was  _ you _ , Miles. You came here to fight.” Scott sighed, finally retracting his hands from Miles’ shirt. “I never wanted to fight.”

Miles blinked, brow furrowing with confusion and frustration. There was a war waging between the two of them since the beginning; and Miles had made it  _ perfectly clear _ that sleeping with Kate was out of the question.

But he did anyway, regardless of the consequences-- regardless of what that would do to Miles.

“Then why would you--” His breath hitched, cutting off his sentence. He couldn’t bear to say it out loud, cursing under his breath. “You  _ knew _ that would hurt me.”

There was a momentary silence in the air. Miles could practically hear the other man’s loud thoughts beside him.

“You  _ know _ why... and I know I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you... but it hardly matters anymore.”

“How the  _ hell _ does it not matter?” Miles grit his teeth, anger rising higher with every passing moment. “This was  _ always _ about Kate! How could you say--”

“I’m over her, Miles,” Scott cut him off, but his voice was sincere, and it irritated Miles that he couldn’t get a proper view of his face to see his expression. “I’ve given up-- on you, on her, on your existence--  _ everything _ . It’s your life, not mine.”

“Then why…” He started, trailing off, trying to decipher what he was hearing. “So you…”

“To be perfectly honest, I was hoping you’d want to kill me once you found out,” Scott admitted. Miles could hear the hurt and regret in his voice, clearly the words of a depressed man. “If I had it my way, I’d be dead by now.”

Death had always seemed like the easy way out, especially in their situation. There were two of them-- simply fight for the chance to survive, and one would come out as the one and only Miles. 

But Miles knew himself better than anyone-- so he knew damn well neither of them were capable of such a thing.

“I could never kill you...” Miles conceded, pressing his back against the door in hopes of putting more space between them.

Scott’s breathing was ragged, emotion clear in his voice. “I wish you could. There’s nothing here for me.”

The conversation was diving south, fast-- and considering their current predicament, with no plan or idea for how they’d get themselves out-- Miles knew he needed to change the tone of conversation. They needed each other’s help right now-- whether or not Miles wanted to admit it to himself.

Miles reached out, hand finding a shoulder and squeezing it gently. “Hey, don’t talk like that--”

“Why not?” Scott interrupted, voice rising more than intended. “You wouldn’t understand. You have my--  _ our  _ life, you have everything.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “Where does that leave  _ me? _ ”

That was a perfectly reasonable question, and one Miles had been considering since this fiasco first started. As previously decided, there was no way either of them were killing the other, or themself. But it left the clone with nothing to call his own-- only a name that Miles had given him, and money for a place to live. If he couldn’t help him find a reason for existing… Miles was concerned where that would lead the clone.

“I… I don’t know.” Miles pulled away, shifting around as much as he could. Their shoulders bumped against each other awkwardly, pushing the clone further into the corner of the closet.

He was at a complete loss for what to say, or how to help. It frustrated him to no end-- being stuck like this, having to stop and actually consider his feelings, his life, and his future-- 

Miles wanted it all to go away. He wasn’t strong enough to deal with this shit.

“The only thing I have is you - the only person who could possibly understand me - and yet... you  _ hate _ me.” Scott spoke each word as if pained by what he was admitting. He sounded so  _ defeated.  _ “So what’s the point of anything?”

Miles stared at the other man, made completely speechless by his question.

He didn’t  _ hate  _ him, he just... _ loathed _ his entire being. The clone was a mockery of himself; a perfect person in every way, someone he couldn’t even dream to stand up against. He was a version of Miles worthy of his wife, his coworkers, his peers-- threatening to leave Miles with  _ nothing _ .

How could he  _ possibly _ compete with that?

“If you won’t put me out of my misery,” Scott started, taking Miles’ silence as an answer. “Then leave me  _ alone _ .”

“You know I can’t do that,” Miles replied quietly, although he wasn’t entirely sure if he was referring to killing him, or keeping him in his life. “I could never…”

“Then why are you  _ here? _ ” Scott pressed, exacerbated. “What do you hope to gain? Haven’t I suffered enough?”

“I just… I don’t know.” Miles tried his best not to grit his teeth, failing miserably. He had too many emotions conflicting at once, only further irritating himself. “I’m so angry all the time-- here you are, everything I ever wanted to be, and yet--”

“Is that still what this is about?” The clone practically laughed as he spoke. “You know I  _ never _ asked to be brought into existence like this. You’re more than welcome to be me.”

Scott was right.  _ Of course he was right _ . But that didn’t mean it was the answer to their problems.

Miles shifted his weight, as much as he could in their current predicament. “That’s not fair on you.” His words were barely above a whisper.

“Since when was anything about this situation  _ fair? _ ” The clone scoffed, encroaching into Miles’ personal space, pressing a finger to his chest. “I’ll be fine. Worry about yourself, alright? You won’t have to concern yourself with me anymore.”

The heat of their enclosed quarters was rising by the minute-- their constantly bickering and close contact no doubt becoming a contributing factor. Miles could feel the sweat on his brow, travelling down his forehead and into his eyes. He’d nearly forgotten that they were in the middle of a conversation, his head spinning, mouth dry and begging for relief.

“But I do.” It was all he managed to get out with a raspy voice, before he felt his knees shake, threatening to give out.

Scott was talking to him still, but whatever he was saying fell on deaf ears. Miles’ senses were becoming overloaded, the only sound reaching him was the drum of his own heartbeat, accompanied by his panicked breaths as they grew more frequent with each passing minute. He reached out for the only thing he could find, hands digging and twisting into the side of the clone’s shirt for leverage. 

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t stay here. He was sad, and lonely, and  _ scared _ \--

It was the last thing he comprehended before he collapsed into the darkness.

* * *

“What’s wrong?” Scott asked, hands searching for the other man’s shoulder. The silence he received only further spiked his already anxious state. “Miles? Miles--”

A tight grip in his own shirt startled him, finding a sudden weight dropping into his arms. 

“Miles!” He yelled, attempting to get an answer, and hearing nothing but even, laboured breathing in response.

The clone wrapped his arms around the other man, preventing him from falling. He was clearly overheating, no doubt fainting from the lack of air and cooling in their current confines. 

_ Shit _ \-- he had to find a way for them to get out of here already, before it got worse.

Scott’s relationship with the man he was cloned from was rocky. But that didn't mean he hated him. If anything, he cared for him. Too much for his own liking. It  _ was  _ himself after all. But Miles was so  _ vulnerable _ . He was lonely and depressed, and although Scott sould say he felt nothing like that the day he was cloned, he felt himself falling further and further towards Miles with every passing day. 

As if they were  _ destined _ to be miserable together. 

They were more similar than he wanted to admit. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe they could help each other out. But first they needed to find a way out of this fucking closet.

Scott shifted Miles gently, so that they were facing the same direction. He held him close, pressing them both into the back of the closet, as he maneuvered his leg in front of them. He took a deep breath, clenching his fists into Miles’ shirt, and focused on the door trapping them here-- and he kicked it with as much force as he could muster. 

He recoiled, unsuccessful, now with a sore leg to boot. 

_ Fuck-- _ he was out of ideas. This was all his fault-- he knew Miles was going to start shit as soon as he arrived. He knew he’d try to use the gun to kill him. But he wasn’t prepared for  _ this. _

Scott pressed his back against the side of the closet, holding Miles to his chest, as he slowly sunk to the floor, legs dipping either side of the other man. He let out a sigh of relief, feeling positively exhausted, body aching and begging for rest.

He startled when Miles suddenly moved in his arms, flailing weakly, groaning in discomfort. The clone hadn’t expected him to come around quite so quickly, but in a way, he was glad. Being stuck in the dark was painfully boring, after all.

“Hey, take it easy,” Scott said, making his best attempt to be comforting.

Miles shifted around in his lap momentarily, bleary and half-asleep. “We’re still here.” It was more of an observation than a question.

“Yeah, we’re still stuck here. Sorry.” Scott pondered a moment, considering their options. “I’m sure it won’t be long until Kate comes searching for us.”

Miles mumbled something under his breath, leaning back against the clone. Scott, surprised by the gesture, shifted his position to be a little more accommodating in the available space. His hands remained around Miles’ middle, as they didn’t have anywhere else to go. It was strangely… comforting. 

Scott tried not to linger on that thought-- after all, he’d prefer this to fighting any day. If Miles was uncomfortable in any way… he didn’t make it known.

“She doesn't want me anymore,” Miles stated bluntly, followed by a drawn out sigh. “It’s obvious. I… just didn’t want to see it.”

The clone was taken aback by how uncharacteristically calm and accepting Miles had become in the last few moments. “That makes two of us,” Scott replied, understanding the pain of Miles’ own words.

They fell into a silence for a moment, and Scott wondered if perhaps Miles had passed out again-- but then he could hear it-- the hitch in his breathing, the sharp gasps of air, his body shaking gently.

Shit. Miles really  _ was _ a mess… perhaps even on the same level as Scott. He hated seeing him like this-- he never wanted to cause harm or sadness, he’d only ever wanted Miles to be happy. But it was a happiness he wanted for himself as well.

A sudden laugh startled Scott out from his thoughts, but he could tell it was a measly attempt to hide tears.

“Look at us.” Miles chuckled, wiping a sleeved hand across his face. “What the fuck are we doing with our life?”

Scott hummed softly, enjoying a more light-hearted tone of conversation. “That remains to be seen, I suppose.”

“We could do anything. Go anywhere. Be with whoever we want.”

It was certainly a possibility. “Yeah. We could.”

Miles turned his head. “So what’s stopping us?”

“Imagination? Motivation?” Scott shrugged thoughtfully. “...Freedom?”

“Sounds about right,” Miles said, humming softly. “We’re... gonna be stuck here a while, aren’t we?” He said, the question turning into a yawn.

“Possibly.” Scott readjusted his legs as best he could, feeling them going to sleep from the odd sitting angle. “Might as well get… comfortable.”

“Fuck… What are we gonna  _ do? _ ”

The clone could tell Miles was having difficulties staying calm, which came as no surprise. He knew the man better than anyone, and panic attacks and anxiety were all too commonplace in his life at this point. He’d need to try to keep his mind off the fact that they were still trapped here.

“Look, I’m sure Kate will come looking for you in no time,” Scott attempted to reassure him. “She knows I live here, and she’s smart enough to know that you’d be headed over here, after.. everything.”

Miles curled in on himself, arms wrapping around his knees. “I hope you’re right.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Scott felt uncomfortably awkward from the slight change of position, finding his hands caught around Miles’ chest. As comforting as it felt, he couldn’t help but feel that he was overstepping boundaries of their relationship - if that was even a word to describe how they felt about one another.

He shifted to the side a little, using the angle to bring his hands back-- but he was stopped; Miles’ hands were on his wrists wordlessly, pulling them back into place around him. 

Scott swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, unaware what Miles was insinuating from that action, not being used to such comforting gestures. He let himself be maneuvered, hands stilling against the other man’s middle. He didn’t want to fight whatever was happening… not when it made him feel wanted.

Miles began dozing off again, head falling back into the clone’s shoulder. Scott decided not to think anymore, closing his eyes and relaxing for the first time in however long they’d been stuck in the closet.

He could worry about his conflicting feelings later.

* * *

“...Miles?”

The two men were shocked awake by the sudden, new voice echoing throughout the apartment, barely able to regain their bearings.

“Kate!” Miles practically sprung to his feet, tripping over himself in the process. “In here!”

He peered out the small opening of the closet, watching as Kate entered the room with a look of bewilderment, staring at the chaos that had occurred in the apartment.

“What the…” She stepped carefully over broken furniture, reaching the closet, and awkwardly pulling away the bookcase keeping them trapped-- giving them just enough room to escape. “How’d you manage that?”

Miles groaned, eyes adjusting to the sudden influx of light. “Don’t ask… it’s a long story.” He stumbled through the bedroom door, back to the living room, finding that his legs had momentarily forgotten how to work.

Scott followed close behind, ignoring Kate and catching Miles by the sleeve as he headed out the front door to the apartment. “Wait a minute--” Miles turned to him, raising an eyebrow at the contact. “Can we talk about this?” The clone requested, expression sincere.

Miles stared into the clone’s eyes, briefly lost in the moment of silence. He considered their afternoon trapped together, and how much the other man had helped him keep his sanity. He felt they’d somehow reached a mutual understanding; a connection of some sort.

Truth be told, it was the only comforting thing he’d felt in weeks.

Words were never one of Miles’ strong suits, so instead he smiled, for what felt like the first time in months, and pulled his clone towards him in a firm embrace. 

“Thanks for… helping me back there,” Miles whispered, pulling away quickly, and clearing his throat. He was now finding it somewhat difficult to meet Scott’s eyes, averting them to the ground.

The two of them turned silently to the other person in the room, nearly forgetting her presence in the short time she’d been there.

Kate stood in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes flickering between the two identical men. She had something on her mind, they could tell that much-- and it was clear that was the reason she was here. Her relationship with Miles had been on the decline for years, and now adding a second Miles into the mix had only further complicated their marriage.

She wanted to break up. No surprise there.

Miles had a hard time admitting it, to himself, and to his wife-- but now he could begin to accept that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He wanted them both to be happy… and if that meant divorce, then so be it. 

He knew she was here to say goodbye for the last time, considering their most recent conversation and arguments about their future. But both Miles and Scott knew she deserved better-- she deserved more than what they could give. They’d come to terms with it, as slow as that process was.

Miles wanted to be strong but he knew he needed help. He needed his clone. He could see that now. 

It was only after that thought had passed that Miles realised that he was holding onto the clone’s hand, gentle and reassuring, and surprisingly reciprocated. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at his own action, before looking back at his clone. Scott glanced at him, expression soft albeit confused-- but he didn’t pull away from his hold.

Miles had no idea what they were going to do with themselves now. They needed each other, in one way or another, that much was obvious-- after all, they were two parts of a singular person, incomplete without the other. Working together would benefit them both, and was the only possibility they had now.

Wherever that would lead them would remain to be seen.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this instead of focusing on my next multi-chapter fic, which I really should do...
> 
> Anyway, more to come soon :)


End file.
